Original Anthrax Bassist Dan Lilker to Fill-In for Frank Bello on Upcoming Tour Dates
In an unexpected turn of events, iconic thrash metal outfit Anthrax announced this morning that they’ll be temporarily reuniting with their original bassist Dan Lilker for their upcoming South American tour next month, as well as a couple U.S. festival dates in May.
Lilker was last in the band roughly four decades ago, having been a founding member and original bassist up until after the release of Fistful of Metal back in 1984. Since then, he’s played in a number of bands including Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, and Stormtroopers of Death, where he played with Scott Ian and Charlie Benante. He still plays with a number of other bands, as well.
Though Nuclear Assault hung it up last year because — according to Lilker — everyone “was getting a little old,” it’s now apparent that he feels he’s still lively enough to hang with the boys again.
“I’m really looking forward to jamming with Anthrax again. When we parted ways back in 1984, they told me to stick around because they might need me in 40 years.”
Likewise, the band put out a statement saying they were also thrilled to play with Lilker and thankful that he was able to fill in for bassist Frank Bello.
“We’re all very excited about with playing with Danny again, and we really appreciate his filling in for Frank. It’s been way too long since we played South America, so you don’t want to miss these shows, they’re going to be insane.”
Speaking of Bello, it’s important to note that he’s not being replaced by Lilker, but rather that he simply couldn’t join his bandmates on this run of dates. Bello explained his upcoming absence in a post on his Instagram page, letting fans know that everything’s okay and that he just couldn’t make it out this time around.
“Hey Everybody, I wanted to let all my friends know that I’m sorry that I won’t be coming to play the upcoming Anthrax dates in Mexico, South America, or the couple of U.S. festival dates in May. Everything’s OK, but for personal reasons, I won’t be able to make those shows. I want to thank my friend Danny Lilker for stepping in for me- he’s gonna rock it! Enjoy the shows , I’m sure they will be great , and I’ll look forward to seeing you all soon!! — Frank”
If you want to catch Anthrax with Lilker, you’re either going to have to travel to South America to catch one of their shows down there, or you’ll need a ticket to either Welcome to Rockville on May 9 in Daytona Beach, Florida or to Sonic Temple Festival on May 17 in Columbus, Ohio.
Either way, this will be an awesome chance to see some old friend kick some ass on stage. You can find the full tour dates below.
APRIL
13 MXMF The Metal Fest, Ciudad De México, Mexico
15 Cancha Diamante, San Salvador, El Salvador
17 Pepper’s, San Jose, Costa Rica
19 The Metal Fest, Quito, Ecuador
21 The Metal Fest, Santiago, Chile
23 Sala de Museo, Montevideo, Uruguay
25 El Teatro Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina
28 Summer Breeze Open Air, São Paulo, Brazil
MAY
9 Welcome to Rockville, Daytona Beach, FL
17 Sonic Temple Festival, Columbus, OH
